Snowball effect chills Tigers 58-20 as Manchester wins second round

GIAN DAVIS HIGH-STEPS THROUGH A CREASE IN THE GREENE COUNTY DEFENSE The senior was an instrumental kickoff return specialist and defensive back throughout the season. The first half of the ball game was as bad as it could be.

Unable to sustain a drive or get good field position or just have a little luck, the Washington-Wilkes Tigers were blanked by Manchester as they saw the Blue Devils roll into the end zone seven times before the buzzer sounded for intermission. With Manchester’s non-starters in the game for most of the second half, the Tigers fared better but the 50-point deficit was too much to overcome and the contest ended at 58-20.

W-W scored once in the third quarter and twice in the fourth on runs by Donovan Anthony, Malik Hall, and Justin Myers. The Blue Devils scored only once in the second half.

Though W-W suffered big plays by Manchester over and over on both sides of the ball, it seemed the Tigers just couldn’t get their hands on one of their own. Still, they didn’t quit, they kept good attitudes, and managed to earn a little respectability in the end.

Obviously frustrated, Head Coach Chad Alligood was flabbergasted. “It just snowballed on us,” he said. “Something like that never crossed my mind. I never thought it would happen like that but it did.”

The coach acknowledged that Manchester is a good football team and quite possibly the best team W-W faced all year. But what frustrated him the most was also quite discouraging, he said. “I had said I just wanted to take our ‘A’ game over there and we did not,” he explained. “That’s my fault and I’m still not really sure why we didn’t.”

Still, he expressed his pride in the team because the one thing they did do was to keep playing. There were some in particular, he said, who really did play hard.

WES TANNER AND D’MYTRI WIGGS PREPARE TO LOWER THE BOOM ON ONE OF TATTNALL’S BALL CARRIERS The Tigers ended their season at 7-5 having made it to the second round of the Class A Public state playoffs. Manchester scored every time they got the ball in the first half and the worst of that was that because of their defense and the Tigers’ struggles on offense, they got the ball seven times.

“When it goes like that there’s nothing you can do about it,” Alligood said, adding, about his players, that “I really was proud of their attitude. We didn’t have anybody flinging a fit or anything like that. The kids stayed calm. I told them that stuff like this just happens and you can’t go back and redo it. Manchester is a good football team and we just did not play good football Friday night.”

The whole debacle was such a surprise because the Tigers had a good week of practice leading up to the game, and their earlier successes on the road led to no worries about the long trip. “We’ve got to learn from it and next season find out how not to do that,” Alligood said.

“Manchester was really, really good, there’s no doubt about that, and when they made a couple of plays and we couldn’t come back real quick and answer it, it just snowballed and we couldn’t stop it,” he continued. “They are probably the best team we have played all year long.”

One thing in Manchester’s favor was that the Blue Devils had 26 seniors on the team and 21 of the 22 positions, offense and defense, on the field were filled with those experienced seniors. Most of them had been on the team when Manchester and W-W met three years ago.

“Those guys had played a lot of football together and had made a couple of runs in the playoffs,” Alligood remarked. “They are ranked No. 1 for a reason.”

Turning from the game, Alligood switched his thoughts to the season as a whole and the support he received from the community during his first year as head coach.

“In year one, I think we did a lot – we made some great strides,” he said. “You never want to lose, but if you look at the games we won and how far we’ve come, I think we really are headed in the right direction. It’s more than just wins and losses,” he added. “If we will continue to take care of the things away from the field in how we act and how we carry ourselves, the big wins will happen. I am a firm believer in that.”

In expressing his pride in his players, Alligood indicated that he is equally as proud of the community he moved into. “It blew me away when I turned around and looked [Friday night at Manchester] right before kickoff and we had filled that place up even though it was a three-hour drive. I’m proud of how the community continues to support us.”

He took the opportunity to encourage all those sports fans to show the same support for basketball, baseball, and all the other sports as well.

“Washington-Wilkes is a special place ,” he continues. “There are not many towns like this anymore where the people just love their school. That’s what makes it special and that’s what makes this place very unique.”

Alligood said some of his coaching buddies had asked how he felt about his first year and he responded that he couldn’t think of a single negative. “I cannot tell you a negative about Washington-Wilkes,” he told them. They were blown away by that and he continued, “Guys, this is exactly what you dream for, especially in your first head coaching job.”

Again reflecting on the season, Alligood said, “I could not ask for better community support. The kids are great, the school is great, and people are stepping up to the plate to help the program financially. That is what you need as a head coach and Washington has provided all of it.

“I really do believe the sky is the limit here,” he concluded. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of time, but I really and truly believe the sky is the limit if we just stay on course.”